The Path of Ascension 5: A LitRPG Adventure

53

After a slight internal debate, Matt decided to give the woman a proper explanation, as she had gathered enough attention. He felt a lesson for his fellow Pathers was warranted. A war was coming, and they were meant to be the best the Empire had to offer.

Stepping forward and gathering everyone’s attention while willing a more scholarly look to his mask, Quill said, “No, they are slow. It’s taken them over six hours to get to where they are. That means they’re clearing each wave at a snail’s pace. There’s five rounds a level from bottom Tier 11 to mid-Tier 11, then high Tier 11, finishing with peak Tier 11s. It continues so on and so forth for each Tier of monster they fight, which means they’re only on the forty-second wave. Essentially, they’ve averaged a ten-minute clear of each wave, and you don’t need to be a genius to understand that they’re slowing down with every cleared wave.”

Leaning forward, Quill pointed up to the screen, which now showed the first-place team.

“The first-placing team has been averaging a four-minute clear, and they are only slowing down at the mid-Tier 13s. They averaged three minutes a wave before that.”

Having led them to the masked team in question, Quill waited until they fell into his word trap.

The woman took the bait.

“And you think you’re better than them?” She spat at his foot, but Quill pulled his foot back and sent back his own verbal attack.

“Yes, we are better than them. That team is a ranked mask, and their rank is forty-seven. They’ve challenged us before, and got their asses handed to them. So, yes, it’s embarrassing to see someone doing that much worse than those laggards.”

The woman seemed to be gearing up for a fight, but her team pulled her back down and away.

Still, she shouted as she was dragged away, “I want someone to tell me when you go up and fight so I can watch and laugh.”

Quill put a cheery expression on his mask as he watched her go, waving merrily before he turned to rewatch the combat video of the team that he had just exchanged words with. He was tempted to have his AI send her a message to do just what she had suggested but refrained from giving her an avenue to try and harass him even more.

He hadn’t attacked them personally, as they had been doing well until their mage f****d up and was out of position during a wave with mostly diving bats. It was an awful counter to their team.

There was nothing wrong with doing well, then getting countered.

Calling back out to them, he offered up some analysis of their own battle with a chipper smiley face in his mask. “In the future, don’t take someone’s critical analysis of a team who did worse than you to heart. You guys did better than them and got f****d with bad luck. Nothing wrong with that. The monsters are random with each wave, and it’s hard to counter everything. Don’t try to protect a failing team as a salve to your bruised ego. Be better and get better.”

That actually got the team to stop and pause.

Seeing he had their attention, Matt nodded to the man with an empty longsword sheath slung across his back. “It was reckless, but that was a good throw to take out the bat and save your mage. You’re all alive and made it into the Tier 13s yourselves. There are half a dozen rifts around here with primary flying monsters. Take the time and go figure out a way to handle them while sorting out another weapon to replace the one you lost.”

Flying monster rifts were rarely kept as primary rifts on settled planets, since they were so hard to fight without an abundance of skills. It wasn’t surprising at all that they struggled against the monster type.

He turned to the mage who had a sullen look on their face and added, “At least you got a good view of the depths of the rift. Is it as unsettling as I’ve heard?”

The man shuddered slightly but said nothing.

From what Matt heard, the underneath of the stage they fought on was an endless void, and anyone who fell was considered dead, as they had never recovered the bodies. It was also said that looking over the edge was a one-way ticket to nightmares for years.

Seeing that his little speech had gathered an ever-growing interested audience, he continued, “Queen Tur’stal has made something clear with the format of this year’s tournament. We are expected to grow the entire time. Anyone who hoards the points and never spends them is going to do well early but will then be unable to catch up against the others. Those who spend their points will be able to buy items that we frankly have no right to access at our Tier.”

Quill tapped his foot at the spot the woman’s spit landed on. “If you can’t see past your anger at the truth of what I’ve said, I have nothing else to say.”

Tapping his mask, he added as he turned, “And because that slow team wears a mask and never bothered to show up to any of the masquerades and test their mettle, I believe their team is simply weak. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance to pass them. Or anyone else.”

Together, he and Torch walked out and kept on their path to reach the second half of the planet.

Matt was frustrated deep down.

While he had been critical of the other team, they were shown on the large screen because they had rated the longest time spent in the rift, and they had issues delving two Tiers up. That wasn’t a shameful thing in any other competition, but being that weak, they had rushed to the most prestigious and lauded rift challenge. They just weren’t able to match that level of prestige and challenge to an acceptable level.

He was still mulling over the situation when he and Liz saw a wall rise on the horizon.

With questioning gazes, they both flew up until they were able to see more of the planet.

Quill’s eyebrows rose under the mask as he saw what the wall was. An entire half of the planet was walled off and guarded by the gardeners Tur’stal had introduced.

Still, what they had done was impressive. It was like someone took a patchwork of different biomes and spliced them together, with no care for the natural inclinations of each area. A desert and tundra area were adjacent but seemingly unbothered by each other’s presence. The sprawling landscape created a majestic patchwork of colors that stretched beyond the horizon.

Torch whistled and messaged him, “What the hell did the boss lady do?”

They wanted to avoid using Tur’stal’s name more than absolutely necessary. She told everyone she would be listening out for it, and saying it for no reason seemed…foolish.

When they landed, they saw a gathering of people and joined them in listening to a Tier 20 gardener explain what the second half of the planet was.

“This side of the planet– the one contained within the wall behind you– is the Garden. Well-manicured and controlled. The other side of the planet is called the Jungle, and nature has taken its course. The main rules on the other side of the wall are not killing each other, and not taking equipment from defeated teams. A final rule about the rifts out there: The first team in line to delve is immune to challenges as we want to make sure the rifts are being used. Otherwise, you must learn about the other restrictions yourselves as you explore. Some areas have more or less restrictions than others.”

He gestured out behind himself and grinned as he said, “Besides that, anything goes. It’s survival of the fittest. If you are strong enough, go and take what you can. Things beyond the wall are the same as here, with rifts available and challenges to complete while delving them. There’s just less…civility in the Jungle.”

The man smiled at the mumbling going through the crowd as he stoked the flames. “Also, note that there are various valuable natural treasures hidden throughout the other side of the planet. You are free to take and keep them if you can actually get your hands on them.”

The gardener nodded at the eager crowd until someone said something that Quill didn’t quite hear.